Genealogy Wylie » Frederick II the Great King of (Frederick II the Great, King of) Prussia [[Ch-Wikibio]] sss (-1786)

Personal data Frederick II the Great King of (Frederick II the Great, King of) Prussia [[Ch-Wikibio]] sss 

• Also known as Friedrich II der Große.
• First name Frederick II the Great, King of.
• He was born on January 24, 1711/1712 in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany.
• (Historical Nickname ) in The Great.
• He died on August 17, 1786 in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, he was 75 years old.
• A child of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
• This information was last updated on February 28, 2023.

Household of Frederick II the Great King of (Frederick II the Great, King of) Prussia [[Ch-Wikibio]] sss

He is married to Elisabeth Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

They got married on June 12, 1733, he was 22 years old.

Notes about Frederick II the Great King of (Frederick II the Great, King of) Prussia [[Ch-Wikibio]] sss

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Friedrich's coarse and tyrannical father despised the prince, who showeda taste for French art and literature and no interest in government andwar. At the age of 18 Friedrich, who had been repeatedly humiliated andill-treated, planned to escape to England. He was arrested, imprisoned,and forced to witness the beheading of his friend and accomplice,Lieutenant Katte. Friedrich submitted to his father and was released. In1733, at his father's request, he married Elizabeth ofBraunschweig-Bevern, but he separated from her shortly afterward and forthe rest of his life showed no interest in women. Prince Friedrich spentthe next few years at Rheinsberg, where he wrote his Anti-Machiavel, anidealistic refutation of Machiavelli, and began his long correspondencewith Voltaire. His period of relative inactivity ended with his accessionto the throne in 1740, after which Friedrich immediately showed thequalities of leadership and decision were to characterize his reign. Inthe War of the Austrian Succession from 1740 to 1748 against MariaTheresa, Friedrich invaded Schlesien without warning, simultaneouslyoffering his aid to Maria Theresa if she ceded a portion of Silesia tohim. A brilliant campaigner, Friedrich acted with utter disregard of hisallies, notably France, and twice concluded separate peace treaties withMaria Theresa in 1742 and 1745, both times securing Upper and LowerSchlesien for Prussia. In the Seven Years War from 1756 to 1763,possession of Schlesien was again in dispute; Maria Theresa wished torecover it, and Friedrich faced a strong coalition including Austria,Russia, and France. England was his only strong ally. Victorious atRossbach and Leuthen in 1757, he was routed in 1759 at Kunersdorf by theAustro-Russian forces, who in 1760 occupied Berlin. In that dark period,it is said, Frederick was on the verge of suicide. However, the accessionin 1762 of his admirer, Czar Peter III of Russia, took Russia out of thewar and opened Friedrich's way to victory. The Peace of Hubertusburg in1763 left Friedrich his previous conquests and made Prussia the foremostmilitary power in Europe. Friedrich was brilliantly assisted by hisprincipal generals, Seydlitz, James Keith, Ferdinand of Braunschweig,Hans Joachim von Zieten, and others. His tactics were studied and admiredby Napoleon Bonaparte and exerted great influence on the art of warfare.After the peace of 1763 Friedrich promoted an alliance with Russia, whichhad nearly defeated him in the Seven Years War. The establishment of aRusso-Prussian alliance prepared the way for the eventual dismembermentof Poland. By the first partition of Poland in 1772, Friedrich vastlyexpanded the limits of Prussia. His rivalry with Austria persisted. Heopposed any attempts by Austria to extend its power within the Holy RomanEmpire and instigated the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778 and 1779to prevent Austrian annexation of Bavaria. He also created in 1785, the Fürstenbund [league of princes] to check Austrian schemes. Friedrichcontinued his father's fundamental domestic policies. His first care wasthe strength and discipline of his army. An enlightened despot, heinstituted important legal and penal reforms, set up trade monopolies tocreate new industries, forwarded education, and accomplished internalimprovements such as drainage projects, roads, and canals. Though heimproved the lot of his own serfs, the nobility had more control overtheir peasants after his reign than before. Frederick was tolerant inreligious matters, personally professing atheism to his intimates. Coldand curt, he relaxed only during his famous midnight suppers at SansSouci, his residence at Potsdam. There he was surrounded by a group of educated men, mostly French, that included at times Voltaire (who broke with him in 1753 but who later resumed his friendship from a safe distance), d'Alembert, La Mettrie, and Maupertuis. Friedrich's wit was corrosive and icy. He wrote inconsequential poetry and remarkable prose on politics, history, military science, and philosophy. Nearly all his writings were in French. He failed to appreciate such men as Lessing andGoethe, who were among his most ardent admirers. A pupil of Quantz, heplayed the flute creditably, and he composed marches, concertos for theflute, and other pieces. Friedrich's personal appearance in his later years—small, sharp-featured, untidy, and snuff-stained—has become part ofthe legend of "Old Fritz". He was succeeded by his nephew, King Frederick William II.

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